Monique Powell, of the band Save Ferris, poses for a photo during the Vans Warped Tour Kick-Off Party at the Vans Global Headquarters in Costa Mesa on Thursday, Mar. 1, 2018. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan/Orange County Register/SCNG)

After 24 years, the longest continuing traveling festival in North American history will kick-off for a final time at Pomona Fairplex on June 21 and zigzag across the country for three dozen dates before officially wrapping up in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Aug. 5. The final line-up was revealed just before an invite-only Warped Tour press event and party at the Vans Global Headquarters in Costa Mesa last week. The final jaunt was carefully curated by Lyman to include a variety of bands that have taken the various stages in previous years.

Some of the biggest artists on the bill include Sum 41, Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake, All Time Low, Underoath, The Used, 3OH!3, We the Kings, Tonight Alive, Motionless in White, Taking Back Sunday, Asking Alexandria, Bowling for Soup, Frank Turner and Simple Plan. The reaction to the line-up on social media was split seemingly 50/50, something Lyman said he’s quite used to.

“Warped Tour has never been for everyone and it never will be,” he said during the press event. “You either get Warped or you don’t.”

Later, during a one-on-one chat, Lyman revealed that the initial announcement only contains “about two-thirds of the line-up.”

“There will be announcements leading up until the day of the tour,” he confirmed. He said he has kept the line-ups a little bit loose as he expects last-minute additions on certain tour dates in various cities and several artists have expressed that they may just “drop in for a surprise.”

“It’s just going to be fun,” Lyman said.

Rock photographer Lisa Johnson, left, and Vans Warped Tour producer Kevin Lyman pose next to the program cover for this years’ tour, the last one, during the Vans Warped Tour Kick-Off Party at the Vans Global Headquarters in Costa Mesa on Thursday, Mar. 1, 2018. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan/Orange County Register/SCNG)

Vans Warped Tour producer Kevin Lyman, center right in hat, poses with past and current performers on the Vans Warped Tour during the Vans Warped Tour Kick-Off Party at the Vans Global Headquarters in Costa Mesa on Thursday, Mar. 1, 2018. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan/Orange County Register/SCNG)

Monique Powell, of the band Save Ferris, poses for a photo during the Vans Warped Tour Kick-Off Party at the Vans Global Headquarters in Costa Mesa on Thursday, Mar. 1, 2018. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan/Orange County Register/SCNG)

A wall of old photos from past tours is viewed during the Vans Warped Tour Kick-Off Party at the Vans Global Headquarters in Costa Mesa on Thursday, Mar. 1, 2018. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan/Orange County Register/SCNG)

Vans Warped Tour producer Kevin Lyman announced that this years’ tour will be the last. Photographed during the Vans Warped Tour Kick-Off Party at the Vans Global Headquarters in Costa Mesa on Thursday, Mar. 1, 2018. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan/Orange County Register/SCNG)

Vans Warped Tour producer Kevin Lyman talks to the media about this year’s tour, including an initiative to combat opioid addiction, during the Vans Warped Tour Kick-Off Party at the Vans Global Headquarters in Costa Mesa on Thursday, Mar. 1, 2018. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan/Orange County Register/SCNG)

Nikki Misery of the band New Years Day, poses for a photo during the Vans Warped Tour Kick-Off Party at the Vans Global Headquarters in Costa Mesa on Thursday, Mar. 1, 2018. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan/Orange County Register/SCNG)

Dan Kenny and Alex Lopez, from left, of the band Suicide Silence pose for a photo during the Vans Warped Tour Kick-Off Party at the Vans Global Headquarters in Costa Mesa on Thursday, Mar. 1, 2018. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan/Orange County Register/SCNG)

Monique Powell, of the band Save Ferris, poses for a photo during the Vans Warped Tour Kick-Off Party at the Vans Global Headquarters in Costa Mesa on Thursday, Mar. 1, 2018. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan/Orange County Register/SCNG)

Vans Warped Tour producer Kevin Lyman announced that this years’ tour will be the last. Photographed during the Vans Warped Tour Kick-Off Party at the Vans Global Headquarters in Costa Mesa on Thursday, Mar. 1, 2018. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan/Orange County Register/SCNG)

A selfie station sits under the inflatable line-up wall during the Vans Warped Tour Kick-Off Party at the Vans Global Headquarters in Costa Mesa on Thursday, Mar. 1, 2018. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan/Orange County Register/SCNG)

Nikki Misery, of the band New Years Day, poses for a photo during the Vans Warped Tour Kick-Off Party at the Vans Global Headquarters in Costa Mesa on Thursday, Mar. 1, 2018. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan/Orange County Register/SCNG)

Dan Kenny and Alex Lopez, from left, of the band Suicide Silence pose for a photo during the Vans Warped Tour Kick-Off Party at the Vans Global Headquarters in Costa Mesa on Thursday, Mar. 1, 2018. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan/Orange County Register/SCNG)

Music fans use a selfie station during the Vans Warped Tour Kick-Off Party at the Vans Global Headquarters in Costa Mesa on Thursday, Mar. 1, 2018. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan/Orange County Register/SCNG)

Vans Warped Tour producer Kevin Lyman talks to the media about this year’s tour, including an initiative to combat opioid addiction, during the Vans Warped Tour Kick-Off Party at the Vans Global Headquarters in Costa Mesa on Thursday, Mar. 1, 2018. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan/Orange County Register/SCNG)

Warped Tour has given a boost to the careers of numerous now big-name acts including bands such as Paramore, My Chemical Romance, Avenged Sevenfold and Fall Out Boy, as well as extended the longevity of artists like Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake and countless others that are considered “Warped Tour bands.” One of the biggest criticisms of the final Warped line-up is that a lot of those larger establishing acts aren’t included in the final run.

“You’ll never make everyone happy,” Lyman said with a smile. “There are bands I wish could come out. It’s not that everyone hasn’t been asked. A lot of people have things going on in life and sometimes it just comes down to the economics of touring. Touring is the only way a lot of artists make money these days. With Warped Tour, most artists understood that you kinda take a step back in the moment to move your career forward, but now they don’t have that luxury because they’re not getting a check from album sales or things like that. A lot of these artists now also have families and kids and they’ve got to make enough money to pay the rent. It’s just how society is now as a whole.”

“Just the sheer number of bands and the ability to establish a music community around your every day existence for seven weeks – it’s just really cool,” she said. Save Ferris did its first Warped Tour in 1998 and returned in 2000. She said the band enjoyed the fact that Lyman mixes up the performance roster from stop to stop, so really anyone could be a headliner.

“There were times we got to play peak times during the day which really helped the band,” she said. “I love that he (Lyman) has always made it a little special for the underdog or the newcomer and given us all an opportunity to shine in our own way.”

Nikki Misery of Anaheim-based rock band New Years Day is a five-time Warped Tour veteran, having been out on the jaunt in 2007, 2011, 2013, 2015 and again in 2017. He said he’s always enjoyed the variety of bands – from emo and pop to rock and punk – that perform on the Warped Tour stages and that smaller bands have the opportunity to hang out with music legends.

“My absolute favorite Warped Tour memory was when the Adolescents were on the tour with us last year and I made friends with (singer) Tony (Reflex) the first day,” he recalled. “I am obsessed with the Adolescents and would go see them as much as I could on the tour and one show I was rocking out and I did this back bend or something and I looked over and Tony was sitting there behind an amp like ‘Yeah, man!’ I was like, ‘Oh, my God.’ It was the coolest thing. Now I know how little girls feel when Andy Black (of Black Veil Brides) talks to them. All these people that inspired me and now they’re watching us!”

“If you’re a kid from L.A., you’re going to go to those shows,” Lopez said. “The best memory of Warped Tour was just being on it. I remember going out and talking to kids that were waiting in line and they were like, ‘You’re my favorite band and I came here just to see you!’ I was like, ‘That’s what I said about Poison the Well back in 2001!”

“Yeah I love being in a band, but I love going to shows, too,” Kenny added. “Warped Tour lets you do both.”

The guys said Warped Tour lived up to its well-hyped cliche of being “like summer camp.”

“A couple of weeks in and I’m hanging out with All-American Rejects,” Kenny said. “That would never happen anywhere else. We’re here throwing dice, eating chicken wings and other bands are coming over to barbecue. The camaraderie is so perfect. There are bands where if you put us on paper next to them, you wouldn’t think we’d be friends or ever tour with each other, but at Warped Tour I was hanging out with Versa Emerge. They were hanging out with us and I was like, this is like putting a horror movie next to, well, any other kind of movie in a video store. I guess we’re the horror movie, but we’re nice guys, come on.”

When he’s done with Warped Tour, Lyman says he may become an educator and that he’s currently working with the FEND (Full Energy No Drugs) movement in partnership with the Preventum app to bring awareness to the opioid crisis. He’ll be sharing his knowledge and resources with fans during the Warped Tour and will continue that work after the festival is over.

“It’s just really important to me,” he said, noting that a lot of the conversations with his friends and even Warped Tour bands were always coming back to someone knowing someone who is suffering from opioid addiction.

However busy he will be doing his day-to-day duties while out on the tour, Lyman said he will make sure to take the time to soak it all in and actually allow himself to have a good time.

“I’m going to set my alarm for five minutes before sunset and make sure I’m there to watch my favorite sunsets,” he said. “For the last 24 years I’ve gotten to watch 40 different sunsets in 40 different places.”

Vans Warped Tour 2018

When: 11 a.m. Thursday, June 21

Where: Pomona Fairplex, 1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona

Tickets: $45 general admission; $51 general admission with souvenir ticket at VansWarpedTour.com.

Also: 11 a.m. Friday, June 22 at SDCCU Stadium Lot, 9449 Friars Road, San Diego. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Thursday, March 8, and are $55 general admission with souvenir ticket at VansWarpedTour.com.

Kelli Skye Fadroski lives for entertainment. She’s worked at The Orange County Register since 2006 and has covered all things music, stand-up comedy, horror and more. When she’s not out reviewing a concert or interviewing some random famous person, she’s catching up on episodes of “The Walking Dead,” somewhere sampling craft beer, enjoying Taco Tuesday or yelling at the contestants through the TV on “Celebrity Name Game” for not knowing basic pop culture trivia. She’s also a diehard Detroit Lions fan.

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.